Victorian Speed Boat Club [VSBC] pennant

Maker Victorian Speed Boat Club (founded 1948)

Date1950s

Object number00002676

NamePennant

MediumFelt

DimensionsOverall: 185 x 390 mm

ClassificationsCommemorative artefacts

Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Tom Patterson

Terms

DescriptionPennant of the Victorian Speed Boat Club. Part of the collection of Tom Patterson, racer in the 1950s and administrator of the Victorian Speed Boat Club and Australian Power Boat Association in the 1960s.HistoryThe Victorian Speedboat Club was formed in 1948 centred on the possibility of forming a speedboat club to conduct race meetings on Port Phillip Bay. The first race meeting was held on the 21st November 1948 with the St. George Motor Boat Club of New South Wales donating the winning trophy. On April 16, 1949, the first Victorian championship was held on Nagambie Lake. In September 1949, an appeal was made to the Albert Park Trust to obtain permission to race on the lake with TYPHOON making a test run in front of officials. After permission was granted the club held two new championships, the Len Owen Trophy for unlimited unrestricted boats and the W. Burrell Trophy for 255 cubic inch unrestricted boats. A clubhouse was later built on a site at Albert Lake but the Victorian Speedboat Club was moved to Lake Eppalock in the 1990s. SignificanceThe Victorian Speed Boat Club was formed in 1948 and is one of the oldest Powerboat racing clubs in Australia. For many years the club hosted events in the heart of Melbourne at Albert Park Lake as well as Lake Eppalock